Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cable guiding element for guidance of electrical lines, with at least two cable channel elements, the cable channel elements being pivotally connected to one another.
Description of Related Art
Cable guiding elements of the initially mentioned type are always used when individual lines or in general a plurality of electrical lines must be routed over a distance. In the prior art these cable guiding elements which are made in the form of support arms are used for swiveling devices such as electrical or medical devices.
Thus, German Patent Application DE 297 02 047 01 discloses a support arm by which electrical lines are guided. The support arm consists of two component arms and one arm intermediate piece which are connected to one another by a joint, the electrical lines being guided through the joint. The component arms in the region of the joint are equipped with a removable cover, while the arm intermediate piece is equipped on its top entirely with a removable cover. The covers must be dismounted for insertion of the electrical lines and the lines must be entered into the support arm by their having to be threaded through the joints.
U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2013/0119219 A1 discloses a cable guiding element in the form of a support arm. The support arm consists of several component arms which are each connected to one another by joints. The electrical lines are entered into the support arm by their being threaded through the individual support arms. In the region of the joints the support arms have removable covers which must be removed in order to enable threading.
To date the use of such cable guiding elements in switchgear cabinets has not been known from the prior art, although many electrical lines must often be guided here. In many switchgear cabinets, electrical functional units are placed on the door of the switchgear cabinet so that the electrical connections between the components on the door of the switchgear cabinet and the components in the switchgear cabinet must be flexible. In practice, it is conventional to join individual cables together using a helical belt or a hose to form a cable harness and to install them in a large loop as a switchgear cabinet door connection. This approach is disadvantageous by itself due to the fact that the cable harness can stick or components in the switchgear cabinet can be unintentionally activated. Another disadvantage is the large amount of space required and the circumstance that the movement of the cable harness when the switchgear cabinet door is being opened and closed is not defined. Likewise, tightening of individual lines is difficult or complex. To do this, under certain circumstances the entire structure must be dismounted and the lines combined into a new cable harness.
The cable guiding elements which are known from the prior art are of only very limited suitability for use in switchgear cabinets, in particular because the known support arms are not designed to favor practical, simple and comfortable replacement of cables. Nor is this provided in the known support arms which are designed primarily to pivotally connect devices or parts of devices to one another.